Why Do Natural Skin Care Products Melt Easily in Hot Weather?
One of my biggest challenges as a formulator of natural skincare products is controlling the effect of the outside temperature.
There are times I create an excellent product during the cold winter only to discover the product is too soft in the summer and vice versa.
Our goal is to create the best natural, wholesome, nourishing skincare possible, so we formulate our products without synthetic stabilizers or waxes.
Commercial products must have a long shelf-life and cannot melt so they contain phthalates to stabilize and maintain viscosity (thickness), Cocamide DEA, MEA to thicken, stabilize and emulsify, petroleum-based oils and waxes to thicken and stabilize, and other additives to ensure that their products maintain the same consistency through all temperature variations. Our natural organic products do not contain these or any other synthetic additives.
Also, to keep our body and face creams light and fluffy we do not load them up with beeswax.
Our balms, whipped body butters, deodorants, salves, and lip balms, high in natural oils and butters, are formulated to be a semi-soft solid at room temperature. When applied to our warm skin, they instantly melt, providing an emollient, nourishing, and penetrating product.
These delicate, natural products are more sensitive to temperature changes.
The Melting Problem Starts After Leaving Our Shop
We have the same problem as companies who make and ship fine chocolates during the summer months!
During very warm weather, some products may soften or even melt during their travels or after their arrival while sitting outside on your warm porch or mailbox.
Since melting is a natural reaction to heat and we have no control over the conditions during transit or delivery, please understand that we cannot be responsible for melted products.
International Customers: Summer melting is especially a problem for international customers. Orders travel far distances in warm trucks and cargo holds.
What To Do About Melting Products
On sunny or warm days it is best to refrigerate BEFORE opening the jars or tins. If you open items, especially those in tins, to check if melting has occurred, they may spill out and make a mess!
The quality and healing properties of our products are not affected by melting.
Deodorants: BEFORE opening the jar, pop it in the freezer for 10 - 15 minutes. As it begins to harden give it a stir (so that the solids do not sink to the bottom) and place it back in the freezer until firm! Since the stick deodorant are made with more beeswax, they are less sensitive to an increase in outside temperature
Whipped Butters: Place them in the refrigerator. The melting will not affect the quality of the whipped butter as a great moisturizer, but the whipped consistency will change. It will become more like a body balm.
- Whipping adds tiny air bubbles (just like whipping cream) that increase the size, lighten the density and change the texture, making the butter light and fluffy.
- If a whipped product melts, the air bubbles are collapsed, so the volume is decreased.
- So although the jar was filled to the top, if the butter melts, there will be less volume in the container. The container may actually look half full.
- We have had customers scoop out the butter and whip it back up with an electric whisk beater. The butter has to be very cold for this to work.
Sugar Scrubs: Place in the refrigerator 10 to 15 minutes. As it begins to harden up--give it a stir and place it back in the refrigerator until firm. Again because it is a whipped product, the container will have less volume as the whipped butters melt.
What We Are Doing To Help The Problem?
While we have no control over the temperature conditions once your package leaves our shop, we do our best to protect our products from melting in transit.
- We check every product before it is packed for shipping
- We use more protective packaging in the heat of summer
- We have switched our US shipping from envelopes to using boxes that allow more padding for insulation
- We have switched many of our products to glass jars with aluminum twist lids to help prevent leakage
- We wrap our delicate products in recyclable paper "bubble" wrap to add another layer of insulation
- As a result, most products shipped in warm weather arrive without melting. But please understand, there is no way that we can ship products to completely control the high heat temperatures of summer, trucks, and mailboxes.
For information on our environmentally friendly packaging please read our blog "Eco-Friendly Packaging: Why It’s Important."
Some Products Are Less Heat Sensitive
- Lotion bars are designed to melt with the aid of friction from rubbing.
- Shower bars are designed to melt on skin that is very warm from your shower or bath. Massage Lotion Candles melt when lit.
- Natural Soap and Shampoo Bars will not melt
These products are less sensitive to an increase in outside temperature.
Although our natural soaps may sweat in humid weather (click here to read more) they will not melt!
